Fergusson, "we should
have the _beau ideal_, externally, of a cathedral." This is probably an
adaptation of Viollet-le-Duc's estimate, which he expresses thus: "This
west facade is the most splendid conception of the thirteenth
century,--Paris, like Laon, being really a transition example, Amiens
representative of different epochs, Chartres a mere reunion of
fragments, and Bourges and Rouen a _melange_ of three centuries."

The south transept portal, which is of great breadth, contains statues
of the Archbishops of Reims, and one of Clovis. A similar doorway on the
north side, though now walled up, contains, in the tympanum, a fine
sculptured "Last Judgment," while the transept itself houses one of
those great clocks so frequently met with in Continental churches,--in
this instance said to be the oldest running time-piece in existence.

Seven flying buttresses, between the transept and the west front, flank
the nave, each holding aloft an elegantly canopied niche containing a
full-length winged figure, a further unique arrangement being a similar
figure which caps or pinnacles the outer piers, from which the
buttresses spring. Above the point of contact of the buttresses with the
main body, runs an effective balustrade of small pointed arches, while
the abside shows, again, a wonderful combination of the buttress as a
decorative and utile feature, combined.

The exterior may be summed up briefly as being the most gorgeously
peopled and decorated structure of its age--as though it were expressly
designed to show off this great throng of statues to the best possible
advantage. Taken collectively, the series forms, says one writer, "the
most complete and magnificent collection of mediaeval iconography
extant." The figures were originally perhaps as many as five thousand,
representing nearly all the families of mankind.

In size the Cathedral of Reims ranks third among the four largest in
France, being exceeded only by Amiens and Chartres, while Paris is
slightly smaller.

The interior presents by no means the awe-inspiring grandeur of the
exterior mass, and is possibly inferior to both Amiens and Chartres,
and though well disposed, lacks the lightness of Cologne or Beauvais. A
first impression rather indicates large proportions of length, breadth,
and height in the nave, though these dimensions are not actually of the
greatest. The transepts, including their aisles, are, however, of an
extreme width, but very short;